Report: Syrian Tries to Attack Ahmadinejad in Cairo

A report Tuesday evening said that a Syrian national had tried to attack Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who is on a visit to Egypt.

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David Lev, 05/02/13 22:03

Ahmadinejad

AFP/File

A report Tuesday evening said that a Syrian national had tried to attack Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who is on a visit to Egypt. The attack took place outside the central Al-Hussein mosque in Cairo. The report, by the Turkish Anatolia news agency, said that the attacker's nationality was determined based on his accent.

The report said that man tried to hit Ahmadinejad as he left the mosque. The attacker was heard to shout anti-Iranian slogans and slogans against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, as well as demands for freedom for the Syrian people.

A video showed the attacker trying to hit Ahmadinejad on his head with a shoe. Police arrested the attacker immediately.

Ahmadinejad was in Cairo for the Organization of Islamic Cooperation conference. The Iranian President of the world's most influential Shi'ite country met with the top Sunni religious functionary in Egypt, Sheikh Ahmed a-Tayib of the A-Zahar Mosque. A-Tayib demanded that Ahmadinejad stay out of the affairs of Sunni countries, including Iran's neighbor Bahrain. “The Shi'ites must not influence the affairs of Sunni states in the Gulf,” he said.

In response, Ahmadinejad said that it was important to “advance the unity of Islam and work out the historic differences between Sunnis and Shi'ites.”